Old Cairo Glass and Lamps
On another trip down to Old Cairo, I started out by chasing the sunset up at the Citadel. Winding through the streets, I know night is soon coming, the evening call to prayer fills the air around us and the ambient light begins to turn a fired amber.
Looking through a courtyard at Sultan Hassan Mosque during sunset. The mosque dates back to the 14th century. Cairo, Egypt.
The sunsets here are always spectacular. The dust and sand in the air gives everything a theatrical glow that I’ve never seen anywhere else. Everything is bathed in a dry warmth.
sunset behind a minaret, looking towards Salah El-Deen Square. Cairo, Egypt.
Once the sun sets, windows and storefronts glow with all sorts of jeweled mosaics and pinpoints from holed brass pendants land on walls like fireflies. Alabaster candle holders glimmer on table tops and the streets start to pick up, it’s a Friday night after all and it’s dinner time.
We grab a quick bite of stuffed pigeon and fries. Don’t turn your nose up unless you’ve tried it, the meat is fantastically juicy and tender. More tea and hookah follow.
A lamp shop nestled in a walkway in Khan El-Khalili. Cairo, Egypt.
We went for a walk down by the outer portion of Khan El-Khalili again hoping to shed a few calories from dinner and ended up walking through this archway. This photo doesn’t really do it any justice. The way the light flickered and glistened from each encasement was pure magic. Flashes of 8 pointed stars and rainbow bands appear everywhere as you turn your head left and right. The height of the arched dome above was warmly illuminated by the glow of the brass pendants below. I seriously considered a lamp or pendant that trip, but there was no way I was going to get any of that back home in one piece. Shipping via regular mail is near impossible from Egypt (due to corruption) unless you wanted to pay DHL a fortune to hand deliver the darned thing. It’s alright, I’ll pass this time.
After being bedazzled by lighting, we walked further down the corridor. I could smell the unmistakable scent of sandalwood; my Popi (maternal grandfather) always smelled like that. I was curious because it was soon followed by hints of frankincense and rose. Ah, a perfume and oil shop! There must have hundreds of pale, translucent liquids lining the wall. Although most of them smell lovely, I highly doubt it would be a good reason to take that on a plane as well. BUT, they did have something that was easy to pack and transport; hand-blown glass bottles with wand tops. There was quite a variety of sizes, shapes and colours.
Carefully packaged by hand, I was able to bring 4 of each size home without breakage!
Collection of glass perfume bottles imported for sale.
